Puffs, Huffs, Fears & Tears
by Jagged Fel
Summary: **CHAPTER 2 NOW UP** H/Hr ship fic. A bit of horse-play can have a lot of repercussions for Harry, Hermione & Ron.
1. Puffs & Huffs

Title: Puffs, Huffs, Fears & Tears (1/?).

Author: Jagged Fel.

Category: Romance, bit of Angst. H/Hr

Rating: PG-13. 

Spoilers: none. But certain lines relate to the rumours about the fifth book- Order of the Phoenix.

Disclaimer: Don't own any of the characters…just borrowing from J.K.

Summary: H/Hr ship fic. A bit of horse-play can have a lot of repercussions for Harry, Hermione & Ron.

(A/N: This takes place sometime during the 5th year, though probably not anytime close to winter.)

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Puffs, Huffs, Fears & Tears

-Chapter One

"Strawberry Puff, Hermione?"

"No thanks George…I'm alright." She said quietly, but firmly, and George, as though knowing what she thinking, gave her a hearty wink.

"Clever girl…" He muttered and walked away, looking for someone else to try the twins' new joke food on.

"What? Are you allergic or something? I thought you liked puff cakes…" Ron asked, take a bite of Strawberry Puff that Fred had given him before.

Hermione and Harry, standing beside Ron, exchanged an amused glance and kept their eyes on him. Within seconds, Ron felt a prickling sensation along his spine. Then suddenly, like a jumping jack-in-the-box, a thorny bush of leaves, with pink puffballs hanging from the branches, burst from the back of Ron's neck, and stayed rooted there, looking like it had been growing there for the past few months. 

"What the—"

Hermione looked as though she was stifling her giggles as she spoke, "No Ron, I'm not allergic to strawberries. I just have common sense to tell the difference between real puff cakes and one of your brothers' tricks."

Sure enough in a matter of seconds all those people who had helped themselves to Fred and George's new treats found themselves looking extremely odd with a bush sticking out from behind their heads.

"Settle down people." George yelled out into the crowd of Gryffindors spread across the school yards, "They'll wear off in a few hours…meanwhile amuse yourselves with the Straw Puff Balls hanging from your personal tree… Fred and I made 'em for some summer fun!"

Harry and Hermione spared a glance at Ron who had reached for the main stalk of his Straw Bush and started tugging on it to pull it out, and found himself going round in circles with the effort. They caught each other's eye for a second, then cracked up laughing.

Ron stopped circling his Bush and cast an annoyed glance at his two best friends, doubled over at the sight of him, "Oh no, _don't help me!_ I'll just stand here, trying to figure a way to get this bloody tree out of my neck while you guys laugh your heads off in the corner!"

"Yeah…"Harry gasped in between laughs, "We'll do that."

Hermione looking somewhat calmer, and as Harry suspected, was hiding her amusement in the face of Ron's frustration, "Look Ron, as George said, they'll wear off in a couple of hours…no point trying to get rid of it now…"

She turned away to hide a smile and found Harry's clear grin, now sparkling with mischief. 

"What—" Then she paused for she saw what Harry had in his hand…

"Summer fun, didn't he say?" Harry sidled up to her and she started edging away…But she wasn't fast enough.

As quick as a flash, Harry had dumped the Straw Puff Ball in his hand, down the front of Hermione's summer robes.

Hermione gasped as Harry and Ron roared with laughter. Those Straw Puffs were as cold as ice as they slid down her top, melting on the way out and dripping all over her skirt.

"Harry Potter! You're gonna pay for that!" She yelled shrilly as she grabbed four Puff Balls off the top of Ron's Bush. Chasing after Harry, as fast as she could go, she got in good enough range to hurl one at Harry's ear.

"Ow! Oh, that's cold!"  
"Take that! And that!" Hermione threw two more, her aim perfect as they both caught Harry's other ear and melted down his neck. A smile of satisfaction crept to Hermione's features as she heard his hiss at the sudden chill on his shoulders. By now Harry had slowed down to wipe off the sticky Straw Puff solution that seemed impossible to get rid of. And as he came to a halt near a clump of trees outside the Forbidden Forest and out of sight of Ron, Hermione ran and leapt onto Harry's back, toppling him with her sudden weight.

"Ouch! What was that for?" He asked, massaging the back of his head, still breathing heavily from the run.

"This." Hermione turned him over to face her, lifted the undershirt beneath his robes and plunged the Puff Ball straight into contact with Harry's warm skin. It was Harry's turn to gasp and writhe as Hermione watched him struggle to get the icy residue off his stomach, while she still lay on top of him. It was virtually impossible to do without shoving Hermione off first, and Harry didn't have the strength for that.

Hermione seemed to know this as she eased herself further over his prone form, propping her elbows on the ground on either side of him, and the two came nose to nose, just inches away from each other.

Hermione smiled lazily, taking in a closer view of those shining green eyes she had grown to love.

Harry blew out an exasperated breath and stared up at her, "You really are a pain, you know…Now do you mind getting off me, or do I have to call Bush Boy Ron to drag you away?"

Hermione raised an amused eyebrow but didn't budge.

"Alright…Bush Boy it is." Harry gathered a breath to yell out to Ron but Hermione held a finger to his lips, silencing him without a word. That hand lifted to toy with his stubborn fringe as she leaned toward him, lips parted, brown eyes clashing with his green ones as their gazes met in one clear instant. His initial confusion at her actions, melted away and he inched forward, meeting her lips halfway, opening up to her without a thought of the consequences. His hands travelled down her slim figure, slipping under her robes to the bare smooth skin at her back, this drawing a slight moan from Hermione as his cool touch splayed over her warm body.

Hermione chewed playfully on Harry's lower lip and wrapped an arm around his neck, drawing him even closer to her, as there was suddenly no daylight to be seen between them… 

Harry's kisses slowed in pace but not in intensity as Hermione raked a hand through his dark, unruly hair, leaving a tingle running down his scalp. He, in turn, focused on her curly brown locks that had fallen like a curtain around them, enclosing them from the outside world. In here, there was only Harry and Hermione, nothing else…

Ron, who had moved down the school lawns to see what had happened to the Puff Ball fight, was utterly shocked to find his best friends sprawled on the ground and obviously fairly occupied with each other, oblivious to any observers. How could this happen and why was that strange urge to bash the hell out of Harry, growing stronger by the second?

He started to march over to them, a look of fury embossed on his face for the entire world to see. "_What in the world are you two doing??!_" He asked in a strangled voice.

Harry and Hermione jerked up instantly, struggling to get off each other.

"Ron! Erm…"

"'Erm' what, Harry?" Ron's furious expression hadn't worn off just yet, as he stood, taking in Harry's creased clothing and Hermione flushed features.

"I think we should go back to the castle to discuss this…" Hermione ventured to say and almost immediately winced at Ron's angry glare, now directed at her. He looked somewhat amusing with the Puff Ball bush poking out of his mop of red hair, atop a livid red-splotched face; but Hermione conceded that this might not be the best time to laugh at the sight.

"Oh you're not getting off the hook so easily, Ms Granger! We're discussing it here where you can't run away!"

This seemed to bring Hermione back to her regular brazen self as she fixed Ron with a cold, hard stare, "Why would I run away, Ron? We haven't done anything wrong."

Harry knew that Hermione and Ron were about to embark on another of their long and often hostile arguments, but this time however, he felt it was just what they needed.

"_Haven't done anything wrong??_" Ron spluttered, disbelievingly and made as if to speak again.

Hermione however, froze him with a glance, "We were kissing. What's it to you?"

Ron took half a step back as though Hermione had slapped him in the face.

"You said it yourself that you didn't have any feelings for me, so what's the matter?"

Ron fished around for something to say. Any sort of comeback he could throw at them, but none came to mind. In the end he stormed off, in a fouler mood than before, wrenching his way past Fleur, the new Defence against Dark Arts teacher, without a glance.

"Hermione…" Harry started, unsure of himself.

She turned and fixed him with a penetrating stare.

"Did you kiss me just so you could…you know, get Ron jealous?" He asked.

Her gaze softened and grew troubled, and her tone became anxious, "No Harry…No, I would never _use_ you for my own purposes."

Harry stepped closer and held Hermione by the elbows, "Then why did you kiss me?"

"Because I wanted to..." 

-END Chapter 1-


	2. Fears & Tears

Title: Puffs, Huffs, Fears & Tears (1/?).

Author: Jagged Fel.

Category: H/Hr Romance, bit of Angst, Friendship.

Rating: PG-13. 

Spoilers: none. But certain lines relate to the rumours about the fifth book- Order of the Phoenix.

Disclaimer: Don't own any of the characters…just borrowing from J.K.

Summary: A bit of horse-play can have a lot of repercussions for three 15-year old Gryffindors.

(A/N: This takes place sometime during the 5th year, though probably not anytime close to winter.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Puffs, Huffs, Fears & Tears

-Chapter Two

That night, as Harry and Hermione crept back into the Gryffindor Common Room after needing to spend more time together, they weren't sure what to expect from Ron. Part of Harry ached for things to be back the way they were before, back when friendships were less complicated and he didn't have to worry about jealous friends and broken hearts. But that would have been before Hermione had kissed him…and changed his life.

As they climbed through the portrait hole, hand-in-hand the last thing they expected to see was Ron waiting for them. But he was. And judging by the way he had stormed off during their last encounter, Harry expected him to curse them on sight, but all he did was stand there. Harry sighed inwardly. He knew he'd have to face him sooner or later, and he just hoped sooner was the better alternative.

"Hermione, could you excuse us for a minute?"

She nodded immediately, crossing her fingers, praying for a non-violent confrontation between the two of them. After all, she thought to herself as she moved up the stairs, she _had _however unintentionally, started this whole thing, and for that, she felt rather guilty.

Ron watched Hermione go, regret evident in his expression. He took a deep breath and let it out, before he faced Harry again, "I always knew she'd choose you… You're the smarter one, the braver one, the one who's actually worth something…"

"Ron—"

"No, Harry. I don't want to hear it. You're the one who had the courage to show your true feelings and…you deserve her. I'm the coward here…Is she listening to this?"

"No." Hermione's strangled reply floated down the stairs.

"Right."

Harry could not help but admire the strength it must have taken Ron to say all of that. Pour out all his feelings in a single moment. He may say that he had no courage, but when it came to matters of friendship, Ron was a true Gryffindor. And a true friend. 

He didn't know how long they both stood there, silently contemplating their tangled relationships, which were just beginning to sort themselves out. As he watched Ron fidget uncomfortably with a hole in his robes, Harry's face broke into a true grin, all anxiety and doubt washed away. The walls of jealousy were batted down once again as Ron smiled back and couldn't help but laugh at the simplicity of it all. Harry joined in and didn't even notice Hermione who was perched on the top stair, furiously wiping away stray tears, yet looking as though this was the happiest day of her life. 

All it had taken was an apology, a new understanding and a laugh (a single cry of mirth) to unlock one of life's simplest treasures and a human being's greatest gift. Hermione shook her head. She could spend all eternity in the library but she knew the answer already lay in her heart – Friendship.

~THE END~


End file.
